Chapter 13
No matter how long I waited, neither Tionis nor the butler ever mentioned anything about an “outside intruder.”
If anything, Tionis only grew busier with external affairs—he didn’t seem to be on guard about anything happening inside the estate.
“They say the bandage-wrapped woman was wandering the first-floor corridor last night!”
“What? Amella said she saw her on the third floor?”
Meanwhile, ominous rumors about a “woman wrapped in bandages” continued circulating among the servants.
They all said it was scary—yet they spoke with smiles on their faces.
As if it were just an entertaining ghost story.
…Seriously, what strange people.
Perhaps because the atmosphere of the estate itself wasn’t tense at all, I found myself relaxing too.
On the nights the bandaged woman supposedly appeared, I actually felt less afraid—because that was when Tionis came to my room.
When the time came, he would carefully pick me up and take me to his room.
By now, I could even roughly predict when he’d arrive.
At night, the maids all returned to their own rooms, so until then, my time was completely my own.
I returned to my original form and headed for the bathroom.
Just in case, I didn’t turn on the light—but after living as a cat for a while, even in the dark I could see my reflection in the mirror clearly enough.
“……”
Seeing my real body after so long, my mouth closed on its own.
I averted my gaze.
I’d grown so accustomed to living as a cat that sometimes I wished I’d never remember I was human at all.
…I could just keep living like this, with these kind people.
Every time I imagined the people here turning cold toward me, my heart ached helplessly.
I didn’t have the strength to be hurt again.
That must have meant the people of the Cabellug Grand Ducal Estate had become precious to me.
And it wasn’t only because I was afraid of being hurt.
A few days ago, I’d thrown away my human dignity without hesitation over the catnip ball Tionis gave me.
My behavior kept growing more cat-like—and worse, I was starting to accept it naturally.
Living as a cat for so long… it felt like I was actually becoming one.
At some point, I’d begun to accept that without resistance.
Even though I’d come to the bathroom on purpose, I forced myself to look back at the mirror I’d been avoiding.
When I pulled up the corners of my mouth, the woman in the mirror smiled awkwardly.
Her blue eyes couldn’t even look straight at her own face, flickering back and forth.
…Right. My human form felt unfamiliar now.
This was the form that had always been met with contempt.
“……”
…Haha.
Looking down at my smooth palms—without any jelly pads—I let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
My eyes burned.
…But I’m still human.
I lacked confidence. My human form felt foreign.
But those were all excuses.
What I wanted was love—not cold disdain.
How ridiculous, Marianne.
To seriously consider living as a cat just because I’d received love for the first time.
And in any case, if I wanted to properly untangle Tionis’s mana, I needed to tell him the truth as soon as possible—
“……!”
My thoughts were cut short.
My sharpened ears caught the sound of footsteps.
That’s Tionis.
I could tell just by the sound now—whether it was Tionis, Flan, or the butler.
The footsteps were refined yet sharp, slightly careless, the sound of polished shoes.
And when he came to my room, there was always a faint urgency to them.
There was no need to think any further.
This was definitely Tionis.
I hurriedly transformed back into a cat and threw myself onto the bed.
The door burst open.
Barely in time.
“Mari.”
“…Nyaa.”
But maybe I’d rushed too much.
Because the door opened faster than expected, I ended up rolled tightly in the blanket, flipped over as I faced him.
Pfft—
Tionis didn’t even try to hold back his laughter as he walked over.
Up until the moment he opened the door, his face had been etched with exhaustion—but it melted away instantly.
“What were you doing to end up like this?”
“……”
Even if I told you, would you understand?
You always talk to me like this anyway.
More importantly, could you unwrap me a bit…? I’m all tangled up, and I don’t think I can fix it myself.
My flailing body was lightly lifted by Tionis’s hands.
“Let’s go. To my room.”
Looks like he planned to take me there again tonight.
He must’ve washed up—there was a faint mint scent clinging to him.
In an instant, my cluttered thoughts were wiped clean.
* * *
Tionis laid me down on the bed in his room—and once again, he fell asleep almost immediately.
His hectic schedule hadn’t changed, but at some point, he’d begun bringing me here every night, laying me down beside him.
Then, without saying anything, he would sleep.
Falling asleep the moment he closed his eyes—just like always.
I don’t even get time to look at his face.
At this rate, the only chance to talk would be when he came into my room.
Resting my chin on my jelly-like front paw, I pondered.
If I suddenly transformed into a human—then what about clothes?
I couldn’t exactly transform naked, could I?
During the day, I’d wandered around under the excuse of “going for a walk” with the servants—but naturally, there were no clothes that would fit me.
At best, maybe a maid’s uniform?
But even that—I had no confidence I could drag it all the way from the servants’ quarters with this tiny cat body.
Putting that aside, wasn’t it strange that in such a vast estate, there wasn’t a single noblewoman’s outfit?
There’s no dressing room. No Grand Duchess’s room.
I didn’t know Tionis’s exact age, but even generously estimating, he couldn’t be more than his early to mid-twenties.
After roaming the estate this much, it was easy to see why someone my age was already a Grand Duke—without even asking.
There were no traces of his parents anywhere.
Just a single portrait hanging in the study.
There was no Grand Duchess either.
If there were, I would’ve encountered her at least once during the nearly month I’d been freely roaming this estate.
At this rate, I’ll end up telling him only after I finish untangling all his mana…
Thinking he must be exhausted too, I returned to my original form.
Pulling the blanket toward me, I placed my hand over Tionis’s heart, as I’d grown used to doing.
I opened my mouth to sing, as always.
But—
Every time, a melody brushed past my thoughts.
And this time, it was a lullaby.
For some reason, I wanted to sing it.
Wouldn’t it help Tionis sleep more peacefully?
He collapses into sleep like this every day, after all.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat.
Straightened my posture.
And opened my mouth.
“Blue bird, please don’t fly too far away. Always stay on a tree where I can see you—”
Thump—!
Before the mana’s melody could even fully take shape, my wrist was grabbed.
“…!”
Startled, I didn’t have time to think—I hurriedly pulled the blanket over my body.
Tionis, who had been sleeping deeply just moments ago, was staring at me in shock.
